Tag Archives: hospital

Missouri AG partners with hospitals to combat human trafficking

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Hospital Association and the Missouri Hospital Human Trafficking Task Force, in collaboration with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, released new resources for hospitals to help caregivers understand and identify the signs of human trafficking. The task force today released a comprehensive toolkit to guide hospitals’ overall efforts, along with web-based video training modules to support hospital workforce education.

“Human trafficking is a scourge, a dark underworld that operates in nearly every corner of the country, trapping victims of all ages and demographics through coercion, force or fraud. To combat an issue as pervasive and widespread as human trafficking, agencies and stakeholders across the state of Missouri must work together,” Attorney General Eric Schmitt said. “Working with the Missouri Hospital Association to develop and provide this toolkit engages another crucial stakeholder that potentially interacts with trafficking victims frequently: medical providers and hospitals.”

The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act defines human trafficking into two types: sex trafficking and labor trafficking. In adults, trafficking requires the elements of force, fraud or coercion. For individuals younger than 18, these elements are not necessary to be included in the definition of trafficking. In 2019, the Polaris Project identified more than 22,000 victims and survivors of human trafficking across the country and saw a 19% increase in calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Research suggests that 88% of individuals caught in the sex trafficking cycle visit a medical provider. More than 63% of these interactions occur in the hospital.

Less is known about those being trafficked for labor and their interaction with the health care system. However, labor trafficking can include individuals forced to engage in a wide variety of tasks from farm, construction and factory work, to retail and restaurant work. As with those involved in sex trafficking, there is no specific profile.

“Individuals caught in the trafficking cycle don’t fit a simple stereotype,” said Herb B. Kuhn, MHA President and CEO. “They are not defined by age, race or gender and can come from rural and urban backgrounds. The toolkit, and associated training modules, are designed to break down misconceptions. They rely on best practices to identify the signs of trafficking and provide a foundation for stronger policies and practices to guide hospitals’ efforts.”

Although opportunities for intervention exist in the clinical environment, removing the individual from the trafficking cycle also requires law enforcement and other community stakeholder engagement. Adoption of strong hospital policies, backed by best practices in trafficking identification at the front lines of care, has proven to open a gateway for reducing the harm of human trafficking.

“Everyone has a role to play in rooting out and reporting human trafficking,” Schmitt continued. “Education is crucial to achieving that goal. I appreciate the work that the Missouri Hospital Association has done to help fight human trafficking, and it’s our goal that this toolkit and trainings will equip medical providers with the information they need to identify and aid victims of human trafficking.”

If you suspect human trafficking is occurring or notice something that doesn’t quite seem right, please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline by calling 888-373-7888, texting 233733 or going online at https://humantraffickinghotline.org/.

Freeman teaches safe babysitting practices

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Baby sitting is a common job for many young people, but they often don’t get very much training.

Freeman Health System is trying to provide that training through its Safe Sitter Program. Through the program, people can learn CPR and other strategies to keep kids under their care safe and engaged.

Freeman has been providing the safe sitting classes more than 25 years. Advance registration is required for the safe sitter class with a fee of $40 for a one-day session.

COPYRIGHT 2021 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

Mercy changes visitor policy amid COVID spike

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Mercy Hospital is limiting the number of visitors patients can have in response to increasing COVID-19 cases.

Mercy announced it will once again limit the number of visitors. Starting Monday (6/28) patients will be allowed only one visitor per day.

Mercy’s president, Jeremy Drinkwitz, said in a statement “The health and safety of our patients, co-workers and community are always our top priority, no question.”

COPYRIGHT 2021 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

Spike in cases prompts Freeman to reopen COVID Unit

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Freeman Health System in Joplin announces it will reopen its medical COVID-19 unit due to a recent spike in cases.

The medical COVID unit was originally opened in July of 2020 and was closed in March of this year when cases had diminished in the area.

Physicians are also seeing more patients with gastrointestinal symptoms that include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The hospital will hold a press conference Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. to discuss increasing patient numbers, how patients are supported in fighting the virus and the changing demographics of those needing hospitalization.

Missouri has recently seen a surge in cases fueled by the Delta variant. One of the hotspots include the Ozarks. According to the Missouri Department of Health hospitalizations in Southwest Missouri rose 196% in the last month.

COVID hospitalizations are up in southwest Missouri and Freeman Hospital is re-opening it’s COVID unit after it closed back in March.

COVID cases continue to climb in the area with Missouri seeing a rapid rise in cases compared to other states. That also means, the number of COVID patients is increasing in the area leading to the reopening of recently closed COVID units at local hospitals, including Freeman. Freeman’s COVID Director, Dr. Rob McNab says there are some key reasons he thinks led to the state we’re in. “What we were doing kept it under control, not gone, not vanquished, but very under control, and when we removed all those safety protections, now we’re back up to 40 plus patients in-house, and we’re still not vaccinated enough to be able to take advantage of herd immunity.”

Dr. McNab says it’s still important to get vaccinated. “What we know right now about these new variants is that they’re still very susceptible to the vaccinations that we have, though it does look like you need to have both vaccines in that series completed to really get the benefit from it.”

Despite calls for people to get vaccinated, vaccination numbers are still low in the area, including Jasper County. Jasper County Health Department Administrator Tony Moehr says “Almost 35% have received one dose of vaccine, but it’s closer to 30% of the total eligible population that have been fully vaccinated so far.”

Moehr says the rise in cases locally is having an interesting side effect. “We have seen our numbers increase just over the past week or so as far as people that are requesting vaccine and so we’re hoping that some people that have kind of been on the fence or looking at this saying ‘wow, the cases are really starting to increase, maybe it’s time to start looking at getting this done’ and we hope more and more people will do that.”

Dr. McNab says he’s hopeful we can get through this climb in cases faster by getting more people vaccinated.

COPYRIGHT 2021 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

Ages 12 and up eligible for Mercy Hospital walk-in vaccine clinic

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Mercy Hospital Joplin will hold a walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic available to all eligible people, including ages 12 and older. The hospital announced it has enough supply accommodate walk-in vaccinations.

It will be available from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19 and Friday, May 21. These are first-dose Pfizer vaccinations only.

The state of Missouri also recently lifted the residency requirement, meaning even those who live in neighboring states can schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at mercy.net/vaccine, or get one by walk-in.

Mercy Hospital offering walk-in COVID vaccines today

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Mercy Hospital Joplin announced Wednesday it has enough supply to accommodate COVID-19 vaccine walk-ins.

People can get a shot at the hospital from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. These are first-dose Pfizer vaccinations only.

The state of Missouri also recently lifted the residency requirement, meaning even those who live in neighboring states can schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at mercy.net/vaccine, or get one by walk-in.

Via Christi plants tree grove in honor of lives lost to the pandemic

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PITTSBURG, Kan. – Ascension Via Christi in Pittsburg not only celebrated Earth Day but also recognized the lives lost during the pandemic.

This was done by planting a grove of trees as a living memorial. Officials say everyone on their staff has been impacted by the pandemic in some way and this memorial will represent their mission while also helping the environment.

“So we took this time to use Earth Day to reflect upon the people we have cared for, those folks that we have lost (and) the tremendous energy put forth by our medical staff,” said Drew Talbott of Ascension Via Christi. ”

The new tree grove is north of the hospital’s parking lot.

Mercy Hospital offering walk-in COVID-19 vaccines

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Mercy Hospital Joplin announced it has enough supply to offer walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations.

Missouri residents can receive their shot without setting up an appointment on Wednesday, April 21 and Friday, April 23. These are first-dose Pfizer vaccinations only.

Missourians can also schedule an COVID-19 appointment at mercy.net/vaccine.

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Mercy Hospital Joplin honors its many volunteers

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JOPLIN, Mo. – It is National Volunteer week, and Mercy Hospital Joplin is taking time to recognize and honor their many volunteers.

Mercy Joplin volunteers gave more than 2,500 hours last month. Tuesday’s celebration included cake and special thank you cards.

“It’s almost like a marriage you know,” said Mercy volunteer Rex Hunt. “We come in here. We love to volunteer. We love the people. We love to interact with all people, and when they give us a little thank you like this, it’s more than we ever expected.”

Mercy volunteers were also encouraged to invite their friends to volunteers at the hospital.

NMRMC breaks ground on new SEK Impact Center

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CHANUTE, Kan. – Officials with the Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center held a ground breaking ceremony for the new SEK Impact Center for Wellness, Education and Business.

The new Impact Center is in Chanute, Kansas at the site of the former tuberculosis hospital. Officials are using a $2.6 million state award to demolish the old hospital and build the new center which will be 9,200 square ft.

Construction is expected to start in 2023 and end in 2025.

Kansas’s Lieutenant Governor David Toland and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas spoke at the groundbreaking.